1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply device having remote-sensing functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been heretofore known a power supply device provided with a remote-sensing terminal to which the voltage of a loading apparatus is input and having remote-sensing functions for controlling the output voltage of the device on the basis of the voltage of the remote-sensing terminal (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-327663 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-262553). In such a power supply device, the voltage of a specific circuit section of the loading apparatus can be fed back to the power supply device by connecting the specific circuit section of the loading apparatus to the remote-sensing terminal using a cable or the like. That is, the power supply device having remote-sensing functions can control the output voltage on the basis of the voltage of the specific circuit section of the loading apparatus fed back through the remote-sensing terminal. It is therefore possible to maintain the voltage of the specific circuit section of the loading apparatus at a predetermined voltage with high accuracy.
In reality, however, the remote-sensing functions are often not used even if the power supply device has the remote-sensing functions for the reason that, for example, a voltage drop arising in the power cable hardly matters in terms of the specifications of the loading apparatus. In this case, a circuit incorporated in the power supply device for the remote-sensing functions is not used at all and thus runs to waste.
An object of the present invention, which has been accomplished in view of such circumstances as described above, is to provide a power supply device which allows a circuit incorporated therein for remote-sensing functions to be also used for other applications.